Came For the Food, Stayed For the Blond
by Diary
Summary: Re-posted under a different title. AU. Luke and Reid talk after Reid's kicked out of Lily's dinner party. Complete. Semi-heavily edited.


Disclaimer: I do not own As the World Turns.

* * *

It started two days after the dinner party Reid was kicked out of. He, used to being kicked out of non-medical places, had been more annoyed he wasn't allowed to take food with him than anything else.

That's why, when Luke showed up with several covered plates of food, Reid let him in, determined he was going to have some of the food promised. "Come in, Mister Snyder."

"Please, don't call me that," Luke begged, setting the food down on the dining room table.

Sighing as he opened one of the plates, Reid said, "Then, stop playing games. You're confused, and that's fine. But stop dragging me into your confusion. Find out what you really want, and then, go from there. If it's Noah, I wish you luck, but don't come to me if he's still determined to pile on."

Shaking his head, Luke sat down on the couch. ""I don't think Noah and I are right for one another anymore. That doesn't mean I can automatically fall out of love."

Reid really didn't want to hear that, but he conceded that Luke did have a point. "Soda, water, or apple juice," he inquired as a peace offering.

"Water, please."

After getting a bottle of water, Reid brought it and a plate of food over to the couch, sitting down. "Fair enough," he said, handing the bottle over. "But that doesn't tell me where I come in. What do you want from, Luke? If it's a friend who will coddle you and tell you that, of course you, and Noah are soulmates, you're out of luck."

"No, I don't want that," Luke said.

"Then, what do you want?"

He looked thoughtful. Then, softly, he said, "Right now, I just want to kiss you."

Setting his plate on the coffee table, Reid turned, a half-smile on his face. "I won't object," he said, reaching out to stroke Luke's cheek.

Luke leaned into the palm of Reid's hand and moved forward until their lips were touching, his hands going towards Reid's hair, seeking the curlier strands to wrap his fingers around.

Soon, the kiss intensified, and they found themselves in Reid's bedroom, shirts off. Reid paused when he felt a scar, Luke shivering briefly. Breaking the kiss, Reid examined it.

Transplant, his mind immediately supplied, and he inwardly winced at the guilt of all the mental accusations of Luke's teetotalism being due to a hypocritical desire to further moralise others he'd made. It was years old, which further piqued his curiosity, clean and well, if darkly, healed against pale skin.

Sensing Reid was going to ask, Luke grabbed his face, placing kisses across it, his hands going towards the neurosurgeon's belt, and muttered, desperately, "Questions later, please."

Agreeing, Reid let his hands go to Luke's pants, finding the pulse point on the other man's neck and resting his tongue against it.

When it was over and both men had come back down to Earth, Luke sighed, placing a kiss on Reid's stomach. "Thank you," he said, voice soft and hoarse. Chastely, he kissed Reid on the lips, and then, began to slip out of bed.

Automatically, Reid knew Luke wasn't simply going to the bathroom or to get some water. He reached out and caught Luke's wrist. "Stay."

Shaking his head, Luke twisted out of the grip. Sadly, he said, "I'm sorry. You- you don't know me, Reid. I've done worst things than blackmailing you, if you can believe it. And when you find out, you're not going to want anything to do with me. Which is understandable, but I really don't want to go through the humiliation of being told to get dressed, and then, being thrown out. So, please, just let me be the one to make the choice."

That stung, but Reid knew there was some precedent for that fear. He had thrown Luke out once before. Recognising he had to be very careful with how he handled this situation, he said, "Okay. I won't stop you from leaving. Meet me at Java's in ten minutes. You'll be dressed, and I won't be able to throw you out."

For some reason Reid couldn't fathom, that caused a genuine smile in Luke. He leaned down and kissed Reid, before pulling away slightly, only to lean forward and steal another kiss before pulling away completely. "Thank you," he said with an amount of gratefulness Reid was used to receiving when he removed a malignant tumour; to have it directed at him simply for not making a fuss and suggesting a neutral place to have a conversation was disconcerting.

...

At Java, they ordered a large box of donuts to share and hot tea for Luke.

"When I was fifteen," Luke said, hesitantly, "I started drinking."

He continued on, explaining how lonely, scared, and confused over his sexuality he was. His family was dysfunctional and his best friend was disgusted by the very thing he was. His way of coping was to drink as much as he could get away with, as often as he could, which led to his mother agreeing to marry a man she didn't love to get him a stolen kidney.

Reid listened in silence, and when Luke was done, he said, "I'm not going to hold that against you. I'm not saying it's right, but it is understandable. You were an emotionally fragile teenager who had no idea how to healthily deal, and you made stupid mistakes. Your mother, because she loves you, made a choice that a lot of parents would make if they could."

His face showing his surprise and gratitude that Reid hadn't already walked away, Luke said, "The reason I'm not in college is because I was kicked out for trying to rig a student election in my favour." Then, he explained the whole story, ending with, "I've always denied it, but I think it probably did have more to do with Kevin than I wanted to admit. I don't know if I wanted to show him that I didn't need him or that I was better than he was or if I just wanted revenge."

Looking down at his latte, Reid said, quietly, "I try not to throw stones at glass houses." When he looked up and saw Luke's curious face, he said, "Sometimes, college brings out the worst in people. That's not an excuse, just a fact."

"What happened," Luke asked, softly.

"There was a fellowship, and I wanted it more than anything. In the end, I won it, but I wasn't as confident back then as I am now."

"I find that hard to imagine."

"Yeah, well," Reid said. "I was desperate, and I decided to cheat. I had it all rationalised in my head. Complete B.S., but at the time, it was enough."

"Oh."

"I didn't cheat," Reid added. "But not because I realised how stupid my plan was or that my rationalisations were pathetic. No, I didn't cheat due to my alarm clock mysteriously not going off the day I had planned to set things up. I had a test worth half my grade that afternoon, and I woke up ten minutes before class started." There, he chuckled at the memory. "I ended up taking that test in my pyjamas."

"Seriously?" Luke inquired, obviously trying to repress his laughter at that mental image.

Reid nodded. "I'm agnostic, but I do believe life sometimes gives people signs. I took that incident as a sign I should reconsider my plan. So, I didn't cheat, but not because I was moral or even just intelligent enough to see the stupidity of it."

"Hmm," Luke said, looking down at his tea. "Did you ever ruin your grandmother's marriage?"

After Luke was finished telling the story, Reid despised Brian Wheatley but kept calm, knowing Luke would misinterpret his anger as being directed at him. "You could have handled the situation much better, and you drinking was especially moronic. That said, however, it wasn't your fault he made unwanted advances and used emotional blackmail to keep you quiet. He ruined your grandmother's marriage; you and she were the victims."

Seeing Luke was about to argue, Reid said, "Do me a favour and don't defend him. Maybe issues with sexuality can excuse a lot, but the line stops when unwanted advances and emotional blackmail come into the picture."

Granted, Reid himself had never had issues with his sexuality; he realised at a young age he was attracted to other boys and that the world had a problem with that. He simply took that as another challenge and went on with his life, never making a big deal over who knew or didn't, never trying to actively hide it or ensure everyone knew. However, he'd seen plenty examples of good people going through absolute hell due to the world's condemnation; for some it, truly was a valid excuse for doing stupid, hurtful things, but as with everything, there was a line.

When it came to Luke, his issues boiled down to two things: The fact Luke blackmailed him, and the fact Luke is in love with another person. In the past, Reid had always been careful not to get in relationships with men who had wronged him on a personal level (professional rivalries were a different story) and/or were hung up over on someone else. Most of his relationships didn't last long, but he was aware that was largely on him and his workaholic, unsentimental ways rather than them.

Shrugging, Luke said, "After all that, I screwed up a police investigation because I was desperate to make the person who sold drugs to Reg, a friend who died of an overdose, pay."

"You know, Mister Snyder," Reid said, thoughtfully, "you care very deeply for people. That's an admirable quality. However, you need to learn to express that quality in ways that aren't idiotic and counterproductive."

"I know," Luke agreed. "I've been trying to work on that."

There was one donut left, and Reid motioned for Luke to take it. "Go on," he said. "What else have you done?"

"Well," Luke said, tentatively, the smallest bit of hope in his tone, "I blackmailed this neurosurgeon into coming to town, and then, indirectly, got him arrested. I wasn't responsible for the judge's sentence, but I taunted him and took advantage of it all the same."

"Yeah, I'm still not happy about that," Reid replied, honestly. "But I got my own neurological wing to run out of the deal, putting me in the mood to forgive."

Luke looked at him, many different emotions flashing across his face and in his eyes.

Digging out his wallet, Reid said, "Without fulling understanding it, I find myself extremely attracted to you. I think this could turn into something great. But I won't be the guy you only come to whenever you need an emotional pick up. So, if you're willing to give us a chance, a real chance, you know where to find me."

Before Luke could stop him or even offer to, at least, leave the tip, Reid had set the tip down and was over at the counter paying for both of them. Then, he walked out.

...

That night, Reid was sitting on the couch, absently rocking Jacob's carrier with his foot when Katie answered the door. "Luke, please tell me you're on a mission of mercy, here to take this sociopath away."

Looking over, Reid said, "It's my turn to pick the movie."

"The Godfather gives me nightmares, and I'm worried about it negatively affecting Jacob's emotional development."

"Well, The Notebook made me seriously consider getting a lobotomy, and after seeing it, the kid's emotional development is already shot to hell."

Looking very amused, Luke came in, saying, "I'm sorry to bother you, Katie; I thought you and Jacob were staying with Casey for the night."

"It's okay," she said, cheerfully. "If you came to ask Reid on a date, the answer's yes. Have him home by three, and honey, I understand young love, but for your own sake, be firm and don't let him steal food from your plate."

"Don't forget the clichéd 'if you do anything to hurt him'," Reid advised.

"Oh! Right," she said, brightly. "Reid, if you hurt Luke, I will find Brad's old hockey stick and hurt you."

Wincing at the memory of her attempting to kill him with a golf club of his on their second night as roommates, Reid said, "That man played far too many sports."

Smiling, Katie picked up Jacob's carrier and carried the baby out of the room.

"I did come to see if you wanted to have some dinner," Luke said, awkwardly. "Al's has a special on chili."

Nodding, Reid stood up and called, "We're leaving."

"Have fun!"

Shaking his head, unable to suppress his smile, Reid took Luke's hand and led him out.


End file.
